Today, my friend Ginny reminded me of something that we can so often forget when we become embroiled in the serious business of business. And that is the value of laughing.

Leaders can often be guilty of taking themselves, and everything else, soseriously that the environment around them becomes stifled with stress and, well, just all around grumpiness. So in service of promoting laughter in the workplace and because it’s Friday, here is the story that Ginny sent to me.

Enjoy it! And pass it on if it makes you laugh. Contagion is good when it’s laughter that’s being spread around.

The Funniest Staff Meeting Ever……

The boss of a Madison Avenue advertising agency called a spontaneous
staff meeting in the middle of a particularly stressful week. (This
is one pretty sharp boss!) When everyone gathered, the boss, who
understood the benefits of having fun, told the burnt out staff the
purpose of the meeting was to have a quick contest.

THE THEME: Viagra advertising slogans.

The only rule was they had to use past ad slogans, originally
written for other products that captured the essence of Viagra.
Slight variations were acceptable…

About 7 minutes later, they turned in their suggestions and created
a Top 10 List. With all the laughter and camaraderie, the rest of
the week went very well for everyone! Talk about raising moral of employees.

The top 10 were:

10. Viagra, Whaazzzz up!

9. Viagra, The quicker pecker picker upper.

8. Viagra, like a rock!

7. Viagra, When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

6. Viagra, Be all that you can be.

5. Viagra, Reach out and touch someone.

4. Viagra, Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

3. Viagra, Home of the whopper!

2. Viagra, We bring good things to Life!

And the unanimous number one slogan:

1. This is your peepee ………… This is your peepee on drugs.

Here’s something to think about.When was the last time you did something at work designed for the sole purpose of having fun?

4 responses to “Make ’em Laugh !”

This is a great example that fun doesn’t have to cost money or take a lot of time. Some people seem to think fun involves organizing an event. Now more than ever leaders and managers need to get creative.

My husband happened to be looking over this post when I opened it. We both got a good laugh!!!

As a meeting facilitator, I’m seeing so many anxious, unproductive teams these days as a result of the economic downturn.

Your advice is timely, and not at all frivolous, when you consider the positive effects of engagement and letting go of fear for teams. In my experience, the ROI of a 15-minute exercise like the one described above (calibrated of course to match the organization’s culture) is significant.